Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Tori.
Today is Tuesday, January 20th, 2026.
And we begin with a possible launch date for NASA's Moonshot.
Artemis II, the mission that aims to send four astronauts on a record-setting trip into deep space and back could head skyward as early as February 6th.
In anticipation, crews at Cape Canaveral in Florida slow rolled the towering 14-million-pound rocket and Orion capsule from a Florida hangar to the launch pad on Saturday.
It's a distance of only four miles but because of the necessary caterpillar-like crawl, took nearly half a day.
Final preparations for blast-off will be made over the next two weeks, including a full dress rehearsal that stops 29 seconds prior to the engines firing.
If all goes well, NASA aims to launch sometime between February 6th and 11th.
After that, the next opportunity will be in March.
The journey will last 10 and a half days, during which the four astronauts will slingshot behind the moon before returning home for a splashdown in the Pacific.
By now, there's a new national champion in college football.
And on the pro side, thanks to a wild playoff weekend, the field is down to four.
This coming Sunday it'll be the Broncos versus Patriots in the AFC and the Seahawks versus Rams in the NFC.
The winners will meet in Santa Clara, California on February 8th. for Super Bowl Sunday.
In the meantime, the reckoning for coaches who didn't make it as far as hoped continues.
The latest casualty, Sean McDermott of the Bills, who was fired yesterday after nine seasons despite taking his team to the playoffs in eight of them.
Do you like to sleep in on weekends?
Who doesn't?
According to new research, there might be a scientifically sound reason for kids to hit snooze.
The study looked at people ages 12 to 24 and found that those who caught up on sleep over the weekend had a 41 lower risk of mental health issues than those who didn't.
While sleep experts still recommend getting 8 to 10 hours consistently often, that's unrealistic for teens and tweens, juggling school work and extracurricular activities.
What makes it even harder is that teenagers often naturally become night owls during adolescence due to shifting circadian rhythms that are just part of growing up.
So when consistent sleep is impossible during the week, weekend catch-ups appear to help young people stay healthier and and happier.
Have you seen the sphere in Las Vegas, that giant entertainment orb covered in a digital screen that can be seen for miles?
A smaller version may be headed to the East Coast.
Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan is looking to duplicate the look and success of the Las Vegas version with a 6000-seat venue outside of the nation's capital, along the waterfront in Prince George's County, Maryland.
It would have all the same bells and whistles, including massive interior and exterior LED displays, immersive sound and seats that vibrate, pulse and shake along with the shows and concerts on stage.
The proposed project was announced Sunday by Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Another Sphere venue is also being planned in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
It's a question you've probably never pondered.
Why are human bodies basically hairless while most other primates are furry?
New research has an answer.
Somewhere between one and three million years ago, the genetic switch that told our bodies to grow hair either turned off or malfunctioned.
The same thing happened in a few other mammals as well, such as dolphins and elephants.
The why is still a mystery.
Theories range from releasing heat more easily as the climate warmed to a simpler way to ditch parasites that live in fur.
Most intriguingly because the hair genes are still there, like computer code that simply isn't running.
We could in theory get furry again if those switches in our genes ever turn back on.
Still ahead, how the Amish are going high-tech, sort of.
But first we want to shout out Sophia Elizabeth and James Adendorf of Dallas Texas, for the hard work they're doing for Reading Rally at Providence Christian School of Texas.
Your mom and dad are so proud, and we think it's pretty awesome, too.
Now, today's Kid News quiz.
When is the first possible launch date for four astronauts to fly around the backside of the moon?
February 6.
Which four NFL teams are still in the Super Bowl hunt?
The Broncos, Patriots, Seahawks, and Rams.
What activity seems to help young people stay healthy and happy, according to a recent study?
Sleeping in.
What state may soon get its own version of Las Vegas's sphere?
Maryland.
In today's Kid News Kicker, when you picture an Amish barn, odds are it doesn't have solar panels.
But change is afoot.
Contrary to popular belief, the Amish, who are noted for their simple living, are okay with electricity.
They just don't want to be plugged into the modern world's power grids.
For years, that meant kerosene lamps, candles, and noisy, polluting diesel generators.
Now, thanks to cheaper and better tech, the sun has become their power company of choice.
Solar.
Lets Amish families stay off-grid while ditching smoky lamps that harm lungs and warm the planet.
So while the Amish still won't friend you on Facebook, they're quietly becoming models of renewable energy.
Thanks again to the Abendor family of Dallas, Texas for sponsoring today's quiz.
A big shout out to Sophia, Elizabeth, and James.
And hello to their teachers, Mrs Preston, Mrs Carr and Mrs Gibbons, and all their friends at Providence Christian School.
And shout outs for our other Kid News classrooms.
Mrs Vincent and her breakers at Geddes Middle School in Easley, South Carolina.
Mrs. Winters and her Eagles at Central and Greencastle, Indiana.
Mrs. Jones and her Jones Scholars at St.
Paul's Catholic School in Nampa, Idaho.
Go Romans!
And Mrs. Lorimer and her UCSB Gauchos at Delser in San Diego, California.
Thanks for listening.
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And we'll see you back here for more Kid News tomorrow morning.
